Gwen Stefani sued for encouraging fans to rush forward at gig

An American woman is suing Gwen Stefani and Live Nation over an incident at a concert in North Carolina last year that left her with leg injuries.

According to a lawsuit filed last week, during a show at an open-air amphitheatre venue operated by Live Nation called the PNC Music Pavilion, Stefani told fans sitting in a lawn section at the back of the complex to move forward to a reserved seating area closer to the stage, declaring: “Just fill in anywhere you like!”

According to Billboard, legal papers submitted on behalf of fan Lisa Stricklin claim: “This announcement created a stampede rush of patrons from the lawn seating area through the reserved seating area and toward the front of the performance stage, with people knocking over and breaching the security barricades and other security matter, jumping over seats in the reserved seating area, and pouring in through the aisles separating the various sections of the reserved seating area”.

During this rush for seats nearer the stage, the lawsuit says, Stricklin “was trampled by the rush of patrons and [pushed] into a wall along the reserved seating area, causing her severe physical injuries”.

Stricklin is seeking $75,000 in damages from both Live Nation and Stefani.